It is a few days into our city break, and Lisboa has just been fantastic! I have soaked myself in the 30-degree sunshine (come through sun kissed skin in September) Met some really incredible people and seen some dope street art (Lisbon has a thing for graffiti, there are streets dedicated to this art form).
The original plan was to have dinner at restaurant Sala yesterday evening. We got ready, hopped in an uber and ended up in some next place (not the restaurant and not the correct address either!) We were not impressed! Has anyone ever noticed how when on holiday, google maps information be all wrong nor not updated?
We called it a day and ended up in our hotel’s roof top bar, sipping on gin and juice… ha! ha! not really. It was more like cocktails (me) and gin & tonic (him), nay to shabby eh?
Anyway, today, we decided as part of our exploration of the city, we find all the places called ‘sala’ on google maps and hopefully, come up to the right place. It worked! We arrived at the right Sala in time for lunch and let me you, it was perfect timing because being a tourist in 30 degree heat is no mean feat, plus we were well hungry too.
Walking into Sala, the first thing that struck me aside from the cool air from the air conditioning was the décor. Everything had wooden elements really lovely wooden elements. The kitchen was like open plan so you could see the chefs at work. I particularly liked how wooden bathroom doors doubled up as storage, very cool. l (really should have taken my phone with me to get a picture / boomerang solz, I did take a photo of the kitchen ….
Our course started with bread and salty butter presented in a wooden slab / basket. It was gorgeous. We gushed over it for a few minutes, Neal has a thing for wood like a MAJOR thing! II Buco also had a unique bread basket. It was not only the bread basket that was eye catching, the cutlery set was in a leather pouch! This is what I mean by details, the DETAILS always matter. The pouch / case was in a rich cognac colour, gosh it was so pretty!
The first course was celeriac and mushrooms served with Silica white wine. The crockery of this dish was just gorgeous. It was like a clay bowl with uneven edges but the inside of it was coated similar to brass pots / pans. The inner gold / brass colour was quite a contrast to the off-white outer colour of the bowl somehow made this dish way prettier. Looking at this course, I initially thought smurfs – why? I don’t know. Then I thought they look like miniature trumpets lol. The celeriac were little pieces folded to look like delicate flowers serving as the base and then somewhere at the centre of it – mushroom, herbs, seeds. Did I say this course was pretty? It was PWEETTTYY! The crisp taste of the silica wine was great with the course. As an unoaked wine, it was lighter – bodied and so didn’t ‘interfere’ with the flavours of the course.
The black pork and clas bao was unexpected. To be honest the ‘bao’ should have been the giveaway but I was not concentrating, still reveling in the mushroom and celeriac course! It was a steamed bun stuffed with black pork and it was yummy!
Now for the next course, I was paying attention. It was scarlet shrimp and smoked ham brulee! Yep, H A M B R U L E E! I mean mind blown? I, like many of of you, assumed anything brûlée was…, well, dessert! Right? I stand corrected. Clearly you can have brûlée that is not dessert. The dish was simple, simple in looks – it was just a shrimp, sauce and ham brûlée dished in a wide off-white plate. The bright colour (scarlet) of the shrimp and sauce was emphasised by the plate and initially, we were hesitant to taste. This is because we assumed the dish would be spicy and you know Neal does not do spice. It did have a hint of spice but the smokiness of the ham brûlée made the dish very flavourful. It was intensely good.
The next 2 courses followed the same vein, simple but tasted seriously good. We had rudder fish and coriander served on a wide plate that was transparent textured glass! Accompanying the lamb and artichoke (topinambur) was red wine, specifically, Vinha do Muoro red and it was yum! For full bodied red wine, it was easy to drink even though intense, it was still soft on the palate, your girl was a very happy bunny!
Chocolate truffle and mushroom ice cream as desert? the best way to describe it is G O R G E O U S! The mushroom ice cream was served on bed of chocolate grains, some chocolatey type thingy magig which ironically looked like mushrooms, some green leaves and then caramel sauce…it reminded me of a garden? How? I mean you know, you have just up turned the soil and have like random things peppered over it .. lol .. I don’t know. All I am saying, it was delicious!
Restaurant Sala, it can be said that your menu is simple, and I would agree. However, there is nothing simple about looking simple, it requires skill and that you have down to a T. Everything about you is skillfully done – the space, the furniture, the crockery, the food! Obrigado
Felicidades
Ndidi & Neal
